The Witches of the Orient

The story behind the 1964 Japanese volleyball team who had a 258-match winning streak.

"Witches of the Orient" unfolds at a glacial pace. A strange mix of archival footage, anime, and current day footage, this production often feels more like a music video than a sport documentary. The drive and determination of these women as they head to the Olympics is awe-inspiring, but the way this story has been told doesn't do their quest justice. Their escapades have highly influenced new media for the past 50 years, yet this film chooses to focus on long, boring shots of archival footage of little consequence, rather than the players. Eat, sleep, volleyball, repeat.

Limited Release 23rd June 2022
ACMI 100 mins